February News, Insights & Events

'How Private Capital Can Boost US Airports'

Our CEO Jon Phillips writes for The Well News in Washington DC on the challenges of upgrading ageing airports and rethinking how the US invests in infrastructure.

Members invited to join us in Berlin on 20 March

We'll be hosting a drinks reception with our sponsors Allianz, Alvarez & Marsal and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett as part of the Infrastructure Investor Global Summit.

Optimising UK regulatory price reviews to drive investment

Writing a guest post, GIIA member Fingleton identifies key issues with price review processes that hinder investment, and what can be done to fix them.

Asks of the UK Government ahead of the Spring Statement

Ahead of the Chancellor’s 2024 Spring Budget, we highlight the challenges facing infrastructure investors in the UK, along with our recommendations to the Government.

Washington visit by GIIA further builds vital US partnerships

GIIA's US policy leads accompanied CEO Jon Phillips to meet with members and stakeholders and attend the National Governors Association's Winter Meeting.

GIIA explores opportunities for investors with EU institutions

GIIA is working with EU institutions to build understanding of the role that private capital can play in completing the EU’s ambitious Trans-European Transport Network.

From our CEO

This year’s travels to represent our members’ interests has taken myself and the team first to Washington DC to attend the National Governors Association (NGA) winter meeting, an annual gathering of state governors and their policy teams. GIIA has been a partner of the NGA for five years now, a relationship that started when the then NGA chair, Governor Larry Hogan (Maryland), made infrastructure the topic of his chair’s initiative.

It was great to catch up with the NGA’s infrastructure team again, who took the time to update our US policy working group on their 2024 programme, including their series of regional gatherings of state infrastructure coordinators. The NGA regularly convenes these officials, who are tasked with navigating the complex landscape of federal grants on offer to fund new infrastructure at state level and, through GIIA’s partnership, our members have the chance to contribute to those discussions.

Outside of the NGA meeting we caught up with several influential stakeholders including the Build America Bureau, Business Roundtable, Bipartisan Policy Centre and American Society of Civil Engineers.

There is no doubt that the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA) has been a hugely significant stimulus for investment in infrastructure, but there are differing views on the success of its roll out to date. Skills shortages and pressures on the supply chain arising from the ‘buy America’ stipulations attached to grants, coupled with laborious permitting processes, are holding back progress on many projects and driving up costs.

This highlights the fact that whilst the numbers involved in the IIJA are eye-watering, they are nowhere near enough to address the infrastructure gap in the US. Public funds alone will never be sufficient to do that, and the fact that the IIJA missed the opportunity to create more incentives for public and private partnership is coming home to roost. Perhaps we will get the chance to put that right when reauthorisation comes around in 2026.

As we were quick to point out in our meetings, although there is very positive investor sentiment, the US remains well behind other major markets in recognising the benefits of private sector expertise, efficiency and finance in the delivery of its infrastructure challenges. Something we must collectively work on.

A quick turnaround saw us head to Dubai to take part in McKinsey’s Global Infrastructure Initiative, an excellent event that gathered many leaders in our sector together to share ideas and best practice. The path to net zero continues to dominate the conference agenda and it was great to share a stage with a number of big players with global expertise in this space, discussing the hottest opportunities by geography and sector.

March will see the industry gather in Berlin and I am looking forward to meeting up with many of our existing members, as well as a few prospective ones, as we close in on our 100th member.

Get Involved

Calling all Emerging Leaders

Members of our Emerging Leaders in Infrastructure Investment (ELII) group are invited to join us for a learning and networking event in London, hosted by Macquarie Group.

Date: 10 April 2024 I Location: London

ESG in infrastructure summit

GIIA members are welcomed to attend our first full-day ESG conference, alongside our sponsors UBS and CMS, as we convene practitioners, industry experts and government bodies to address the pivotal role of ESG in infrastructure investment.

Date: 29 May 2024 I Location: London

Join us at the House of Commons

GIIA members are welcomed to join us and our event sponsor Curzon at the House of Commons for our annual Parliamentary Reception for speeches and networking

Date: 19 June 2024 I Location: London

Want to contribute?

We work with our members to produce a range of events, reports and insights across the year. If you would like to contribute to our planned agenda, please get in touch by emailing events@giia.net. We’d love to hear from you.

Market spotlights

US news

By David Quam, Senior US Advisor and Alessandro Pecorari, Policy & Public Affairs Manager

February has been a busy month for highlighting the need for infrastructure investment in the US market. We began with the timely publication of our op-ed Missed Connection - How Private Capital Can Boost US Airports, in which our CEO Jon Phillips highlights the potential for private capital to upgrade ageing airports at a time of high government debt. Jon calls for a rethink in the way the US invests in airports, using the upcoming FAA Reauthorisation bill as the opportunity to do just that, and drawing attention to the successful, overseas-tested Infrastructure Incentive Grants (I3G).

Washington-based website The Well News published the article at just the right time, with the FAA Reauthorisation bill passing through the Senate Commerce Committee in early February and heading for the Senate floor ahead of the reauthorisation deadline of 6 March.

Also in February, the Biden Administration announced another disbursement of nearly $1 billion in grants from the Investment in Infrastructure and Jobs Act (IIJA) which will target 144 airports across 44 U.S. states and three territories. The funding - though working out at an average $8.5 million per airport – is intended to help modernise and meet the growing demand for air travel. But such grants are insufficient to plug the funding gap and GIIA continues to call for greater use of public-private partnerships to make the most of federal dollars.

Between 19 – 23 February, our team of Jon, David and Alessandro were in Washington DC to connect with GIIA members and stakeholders ahead of the National Governors Association Winter Meeting. We held conversations with our public relations partner ROKK, industry associations, journalists, members of the Department of Transportation, and a one-to-one with Larry Hogan, former Governor of Maryland and NGA infrastructure champion.

We also held an in-person US Policy Working Group meeting, where the NGA’s Tom Curtin and Glenn Grimshaw talked about their strategy for socialising the topic of public-private partnerships (P3s) at regional level, and shared educational initiatives designed to make P3s better known across the states.

UK news

By Nick Elliott, Policy & Public Affairs Manager

As we edge closer to a likely November election, our efforts in February have been to ensure that investor viewpoints capture policymakers' attention over the crucial coming months. Our engagement with the Department for Business & Trade has focused on advocating for regulatory reforms that align with the principles outlined in the ‘smarter regulation’ consultations. We want to see these reforms applied to forthcoming price review decisions within the energy and water sectors.

We are pleased that the Government's response to the ‘Smarter Regulation: Regulating for Growth’ consultation aligns with many of our recommendations for the guidance that will accompany April’s extension of the growth duty to Ofgem, Ofwat and Ofcom. We look forward to the Government's response to the remaining smarter regulation consultations and expect further dialogue on their outcomes.

In the water sector, recent public discourse underscores the urgent need to modernise and prevent future serious pollution incidents. We have this month further engaged with the Government to ensure that investor concerns are fully considered and are pleased that the ministers and advisers have been receptive to our recommendations. Our aim is to ensure that policy and regulation enable the £96 billion of investment pledged by water companies over the next five years.

Finally, registration is now open for our 2024 Parliamentary Reception on 19 June, on the House of Commons’ Terrace. This will be a great opportunity for members to engage directly with policymakers. GIIA members are invited to register here.

EU news

By Harvey Chandler, Head of Policy & Public Affairs

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced her intention to run for a second five-year term and is, so far, in a one-horse race. Pending an unlikely upset for her EPP group in the forthcoming June elections, she looks set to remain at the helm. Issues that face the next commission include maintaining support for Ukraine, strengthening EU competitiveness, advancing the capital markets union and delivering on the ambitions of the European Green Deal.

As we continue to brief directorates on the priorities of investors, we’ve been encouraged by the steps being taken to better consult investors in areas such as grid roll out and wind, as exemplified in Action 9 and 10 in the Grids and Wind action plans respectively. We’re working with the Commission through the Investors Dialogue on Energy to ensure that issues and potential solutions raised by EU Working Group members are represented in policy considerations, to remove bottlenecks for projects, driving forward the clean transition.

The Commission has launched a digital infrastructure white paper for consultation, which among other things is seeking views on how to address investor needs to accelerate digital infrastructure investments. One scenario envisaged by the Commission is to review available instruments, in particular grants, procurement, blending operations under InvestEU and grant blending facilities, with a particular focus on leveraging private investment to support Common Projects of European Interest, including the possibility of an equity fund. The consultation closes on 30 June.

Another update from February includes proposals for changes to FDI screening rules – see an explainer from Freshfields who recently briefed our EU Working Group here.

We’ve seen increased interest from the Commission in the role of investors in financing transport infrastructure critical to the completion of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). Through the working group, we’re working to address the bankability of TEN-T infrastructure projects, and the steps needed to de-risk greenfield projects to improve their attractiveness for institutional investors.

Membership update

We are very pleased to be continuing our impressive rate of growth, and are delighted to welcome two new investor members to the GIIA community this month, as we head towards the milestone of 100 members in 2024. View our full list of members here. 

If you know of any companies that would benefit in joining GIIA, get in touch.

Unlock young potential

Join the IIF partnership with Career Ready and make social mobility happen by hosting an intern this summer.

We're proud to share a socially responsible opportunity for the GIIA community to make a lasting impact on young lives through the Infrastructure Industry Foundation's partnership with Career Ready, a leading UK-wide social mobility charity.

GIIA members can support change and opportunity in society by hosting a young person for a paid internship this summer. Your support can transform lives, boost social mobility, and connect you with future talent. Career Ready will support members throughout the process, from onboarding to structuring a high-quality internship.

Read more on the impact the the programme can make here and join us for a webinar on Tuesday 5 March at 9:00am to learn more about the programme and how you can get involved. For further information, contact Alexia Savva: info@infrafoundation.co.uk.

News from our members

Ardian halfway to €10bn target for Fund VI

The French fund manager is heading for the final close later this year, having already deployed capital in three major assets.

US infrastructure investments surge while real estate struggles

Pension giants CalPERS and CalSTRS seek diversified portfolios amidst soaring infrastructure investments and changing market trends.

Investors urged to engage in climate change battle

Brookfield advises confronting carbon-intensive sectors like transport, cement, and steel, urging transformation rather than avoidance.

For press enquiries or to feature in our next email newsletter or website guest post, email press@giia.net.